


E. Aster Bunnymund

by Hobbyist_Writer



Series: Exception Verse [4]
Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-20
Updated: 2014-04-20
Packaged: 2018-05-18 07:44:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,686
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5907730
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hobbyist_Writer/pseuds/Hobbyist_Writer
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Guardians of Childhood are used to their charges slowly losing belief in them as they grow older. BUT! Sometimes...sometimes there are exceptions. E. Aster Bunnymund has his eyes opened by our favorite exception and meets some of his believers in an unexpected place.</p><p>Cross-posted from Fanfiction.net (under the title "Exception Verse, this would be Chapter 3).</p>
            </blockquote>





	E. Aster Bunnymund

**Author's Note:**

> Author Notes from Fanfiction.net:  
> Exception Verse is no longer simply a one-shot. Why? Because there are now THREE short stories in it!
> 
> And did I say short? This 'one-shot' is roughly 10 pages in MS Word. Bunny shoved himself into my head and made me write this. I finished earlier this week...just in time for Easter.
> 
> Happy Easter everyone! Blame this on a crazy rabbit who wouldn't leave me alone.

E. Aster Bunnymund, Guardian of Hope, Protector of New Beginnings, Great Pooka Warrior and Master of five martial arts, the Easter Bunny, was busily hopping along, overseeing the googies as they ran about and hid themselves in the light brush that covered edges of the forest near a smallish town.

It was almost dawn and the Pooka’s work was nearly done.

_Snap!_

Bunny’s ears flicked in the direction of the sound even as he sprang to the side of the path, hidden in the shadows of the larger bushes and trees, Bunny could see the cause of the noise.

_Dang teenagers!_

To be fair, the teenager in question was probably in her twenties, most likely a student in the nearby university.

That didn’t matter to Bunnymund though; he just wanted her to _go away_ so he could finish hiding the last of his eggs.

“I could almost swear…” the girl muttered, glancing around the path, “AH!”

It was only Bunnymund’s finely trained skills that kept him from jumping at the sudden exclamation. Only to bite back a sound of dismay when he saw what had caused the girl’s outburst.

One of his googies was caught gently but firmly in the girl’s hands. Legs kicking uselessly, the egg couldn’t free itself.

“I knew it!” the girl told the egg, “Now come on, where’s your maker?”

Bunny nearly groaned. Surely the girl was too old to be a believer? But the facts were right there, staring at him in the face. She had an egg. Only thing to do now was to get out of there as quick as possible.

It shouldn’t be difficult. Even if the sheila could potentially see him, he was a professional at moving unseen and unheard.

_Just move a little farther into the forest...then I can open a tunnel and be outta here._

Bunny heard shuffling sounds, felt the quick staccato of his googie running away to hide.

“No wait!” the girl called after it, realizing too late that the googie wasn’t going to lead her to the Easter Bunny.

_There’s a good little googie, run away and hide while I just quietly…slip…away…_

“GOTCHA, YA DANG RABBIT!”

Bunny was knocked off his paws. Instinct kicked in, fighting off the thing that wrapped around him, entangling his limbs.

“Ow! Hey, wait! Stop fighting me!!”

It was the girl!

“What _is_ yer problem, ya drongo?” Bunny demanded, still trying to shake the girl off, “Get off me!”

She clung to him stubbornly, twisting fingers into Bunny’s long fur to get a better grip.

“Please, just wait! I need your help! Eggs! Easter eggs! You still have some right?” she managed to say between breaths, “I need some!”

“Those are for the ankle biters!” Bunny nearly yelled, “Keep yer grubby mitts off ‘em! And get yer grubby mitts off ME!”

“They’re not for me!” she hollered right back at him; “They’re for kids! They can’t go out and I really, really want to take them eggs from the Easter Bunny, _please!_ ”

Bunny stopped his struggles to get her away from him, “What d’ya mean ‘they can’t go out’? If they want my chocolate they gotta go out just like the rest of the kiddiwinks.”

“They can’t!” she said, finally letting go enough to look him in the eye, “They’re in the hospital. They can’t go out. Please, I just want to give them a happy Easter. Will you help?”

And that’s how E. Aster Bunnymund found himself following a little slip of a woman to where she said the children were. The trip was short and not long after the little incident in the woods, they stopped near a medium-sized building.

It was white and institutional-looking. The Easter Rabbit couldn’t imagine being stuck inside it during the day that was supposed to represent hope and the return of spring.

“This’s where them sick ankle-biters are?” Bunnymund asked quietly.

She nodded, “Like I said, the ones I want you to visit can’t go out. They’re either bed-ridden, or need to be near specialized equipment 24/7.”

Obviously a frequent visitor to the hospital, the girl was able to sneak him inside. It helped that all the ankle-biters who could see him were outside searching for eggs and anyone who _was_ at the hospital were all too old to see him.

_Except her, the one who managed to see him, one of those rare exceptions…_

Bunny studied her as she continued to lead him. He wondered how someone like her was even possible.

~ o ~ o ~ o ~

Somehow Bunny found himself standing outside a set of white double doors. Small windows showed a glimpse of what was inside the children’s ward.

Two rows of beds, ten on each side, were spaced evenly through the large room. A few low tables were placed strategically in the open space in the middle of the room. Children’s toys, books and games were scattered, lying haphazardly on the floor or strewn across beds.

The room could have passed for any children’s dorm…if it weren’t for the countless machines that were pushed near to every bed. Blinking and steadily beeping, recording every breath and heartbeat of each child. Countless tubes and wires connected the children to different monitors, oxygen tanks or IV bags.

Bunny suppressed a gasp of horror. These kids were far from the healthy, bright-eyed ones he had hidden Easter Eggs for. Most lay listlessly in their beds, kept from moving around by the machines that monitored them. Some of the more mobile ones were on wheelchairs or seated by the tables, half-heartedly working with papers and colouring implements. Even the ones who were more mobile had at least an IV bag tailing them on a wheeled stand.

“Terminal cases, all of them.” Bunnymund’s guide said quietly, “Lizzy, the girl with the fuzzy tiger hat, and Tyler, the one in the far right corner, aren’t expected to last the year.”

“They’re just kids…” Bunny couldn’t help but lament.

“Yeah…” she sighed and reached out to squeeze his arm in reassurance, “Come in when you feel ready.” She paused then met his eyes hesitantly, “You… _will_ come in, right?”

Bunny ruffled her hair, “Well I’m the Easter Bunny, ain’t I? And there are kiddiwinks in there who haven’t gotten any Easter Eggs. Go on,” he pushed her gently closer to the doors, “I’ll be in in a bit.”

“…Okay…” she held his gaze for a few more moments then slipped through the doors.

Bunny watched through the window as his guide greeted every single child cheerfully, ignoring the obvious displays of their sickness. Before Bunny’s eyes, the listlessness began to fade bit by bit; the children cheered just by the presence of the girl, obviously a regular visitor.

“Happy Easter!” several of them carolled.

She repeated the greeting, getting a couple more kids to smile.

“Hi…” one little boy rasped out.

“Hey there David, how’re you doing?” she said, smiling softly at the little boy and reaching out to gently brush his hair away from his eyes.

“…better than…yesterday…” came the answer.

_Better than…_

Bunny couldn’t believe it. The kid looked as weak as a day-old kitten and _this_ was _better_?

_What in the name of the Moon is wrong with these kids?_

“I guessed we missed Easter…” the girl who lay in the neighbouring bed to David’s said softly.

“Of course you didn’t, sweetie. Just because you can’t go outside doesn’t mean you can’t have Easter. I brought a very special friend of mine to visit you all.”

She glanced at the door, somehow meeting Bunnymund’s eyes. Bunny saw the unspoken plea to help these children, give them a happy memory to savour in the midst of all the bad ones.

And it was enough. Bunny found he could move again, pushing the door open all the way and entering the room.

It hurt more than Bunny could describe when he realized that not all the ankle biters could see him right away. But Lizzy, sweat spark that she was, had enough belief that she caught sight of him. Her eyes widened and she pointed weakly from her bed.

“You brought the Easter Bunny?” she exclaimed.

“What?”

“Where?”

Little heads spun to see where Lizzy was pointing. Dull eyes brightened as hope gave them a spark of belief, enough to see Bunny standing tall and proud in the middle of their hospital ward.

“You really brought the Easter Bunny?” one of the kids asked from her wheelchair.

“’Course she did.” Bunny said, hopping over to stroke a paw down the kid’s cheek, “And ‘course I came quick as a bunny’s tail once I knew.”

The little girl ducked her head shyly.

“Hey now, don’t do that.” Bunny coaxed her head back up, “What’s your name sweetheart?”

“Jessie…” she whispered.

“Hi Jessie, I’ve got a gift for ya.” Bunny gently deposited one of his hand-painted Eggs into her little hands.

Jessie gasped in awe. She gazed at the little jewel-coloured egg in her hands, mesmerized by the swirling colours.

“Thank you…” she breathed softly, as if afraid that if she spoke too loud the egg would shatter in her hands.

“My name’s Lizzy!” the one who first saw him piped up. She pointed to the boy in the bed next to her, “That’s David.”

They each introduced themselves and Bunny gave each and every one of them an Easter egg. He also distributed the ones that his guide had prepared. They looked dull compared to his vibrantly patterned eggs but the kids just gushed over them.

Jessie and Lizzy and David

Susie, Rob, Fred and Andy

Natalie and Brian

Jason

Mary-Anne and Christopher

Their names etched themselves into the fierce warrior’s heart.

Heather, Timmy and Matt

Katie and Arron and Derrek

Leah

Bunny wouldn’t forget their names. He couldn’t even if he tried.

And Tyler…the hopelessness in the boy broke Bunny’s heart all over again.

“I can’t believe you’re all falling for this!” Tyler screamed at the other children when he was introduced, he shoved Bunny’s paws away, refusing to take the treats cradled so carefully in them, “That’s not the Easter Bunny! He’s probably just some big kid dressed up as a rabbit!”

Bunny couldn’t believe his ears. How could this child see him yet…not? It hurt that the child obviously believed in him but had so little faith that he couldn’t bring himself to believe that the Easter Bunny would actually visit him.

“Sorry ta break it to ya, kid.” Bunny said, trying to lighten the mood, “But I’m the dinky-di Easter Rabbit.”

“The Easter Bunny wouldn’t visit m—us!” Tyler declared, his eyes boring hatefully into Bunny’s, “Why would he care? There must be millions of kids out there…kids who _aren’t_ sick..or broken…or _dying_!! It doesn’t matter, don’t you get it? It doesn’t matter because I’m gonna die and the Easter Bunny wouldn’t ever waste his time on broken kids like me!”

“Oh Tyler…” Bunny’s guide hurried over, enveloping Tyler in her arms, pulling him close to her, slightly rocking him and stroking his hair as the Tyler buried his face in her shirt, tears already staining the fabric.

“He cares. He does. That’s why he’s here. Have I ever lied to you?” she said to him.

The little head moved slowly left to right. No.

“And I’m not lying to you now.”

“No, she’s not.” Bunny said, daring to reach out and stroke his velvety paws down the kid’s back, “Come on. Turn around. I’m real and I’m here—in person—to see my very bravest believers.”

Tyler slowly turned around. He stared at Bunny, fascinated by his face. Bunny pulled Tyler’s little hands into his larger paws.

“See? Feel that. No way some imposter could pull that off, right?” Bunny said, “Come on, kiddo. Don’t ya want some of my googies?”

“It’s really you…” Tyler said, disbelief giving way to hope and happiness.

Bunny smiled and he nodded, “Yep. It’s really me.”

Lizzy spoke up then, “Can you stay for story time, Mr. Easter Bunny?”

The request got chorused by the other children. Bunny nodded. He could stay awhile. His tasks were done for this Easter. He could spend time with these little ones.

“Sure I can.”

Cheers broke out. The sick kids were already more alive and happier looking than when they first came in. Bunny could hardly believe that they’d only been there for a few minutes.

Bunny stayed for the sake of the kids but the happy look in the eyes of the child who never really grew up was a great bonus.

“That’s great.” she said, wriggling a bit to get more comfortable on Tyler’s bed. Tyler snuggled even closer so that he was practically curled on her lap, “I know just the story. It’s about a little girl who didn’t want to see what was right in front of her eyes.”

“Like Tyler!” Mary-Anne piped up from her seat on one of the neighbouring beds. Its occupant shushed the girl.

“Yes, kind of like Tyler.” the storyteller agreed, “But Tyler’s much braver. It took the little girl much longer to see. So let’s begin where all stories begin…once upon a time…”

Bunny got drawn into the story despite himself. She obviously had lots of experience. The story formed around them, brought to life by her voice and breath.

 

_Once upon a time there was a little girl. This little girl tried very hard to be happy and to smile but it was very hard…because sad things kept happening to her. She kept trying and trying but each time a new sad thing happened it became harder and harder for her to smile again. Bit by bit, her smile faded and the light in her eyes dulled._

_Finally the little girl had had enough of all the sad, sad things that happened to her. She was tired of seeing bad things happen. She was tired because every time she tried to get up, the world just shoved her back down. The little girl closed her eyes._

_If I close my eyes, the little girl said to herself, I won’t see the sad things anymore._

_She believed that if she couldn’t see the sad things then they couldn’t touch her. They wouldn’t be able to hurt her anymore. So she closed her eyes and went right back trying to live her life._

_And the little girl was happy for a time because she couldn’t see any sadness..._

 

“But you can’t _see_ sadness!” Tyler piped up, “It’s an emotion; you can only _feel_ it.”

She nodded, totally at ease with the interruption, “Yes, well. That little girl wasn’t very smart. She only _thought_ she was happy.” She seamlessly slipped back into the story…

 

_She only thought she was happy. But the little girl forgot that if her eyes were closed, it wasn’t only the sad things that would be unseen. She wouldn’t be able to see the happy things too. She’d never really be happy behind her closed eyes._

_The little girl spent so long in her self-imposed darkness that she came to know the shadows. In the darkness that was her world, the shadows flocked to her because shadows loved fear and the little girl’s fear of what lay beyond her closed eyes was great._

_The little girl was so sure of her safety in that darkness that she spoke for the first time about all the sadness weighing down her heart. She didn’t realize that the shadows were listening…_

_All unknowing, she poured out her troubles and fears to the darkness…and the shadows spoke back._

_Time and many conversations passed. The little girl found herself befriending the shadows and from that friendship was born a tiny spark of happiness._

_All through this the little girl kept her eyes firmly closed but the stories that the shadows shared with her made her curious. She began to long to see what the shadows described so well with her own eyes. She wanted to find out if she could see all those people the shadows complained about. The idea was an enticing one and the little girl found herself wanting to open her eyes._

_Just a little peak, she said to herself, I can always close my eyes again if it’s too scary._

_So with the warm light of friendship and the bright lure of curiosity spurring her on, the little girl gathered her courage and opened her eyes._

_The little girl was shocked at all she saw for it had been quite some time and she had forgotten what the world looked like. She stood there, simply looking, drinking in everything her little eyes could see, amazed at how beautiful the world was._

_She laughed with joy and ran out to explore and maybe even find those she was so curious about, never noticing when the shadows that draped around her fell away and was left behind._

_Ever since that day, the little girl kept her eyes open, ready to see all the wondrous things the world had to offer._

 

“So I hope that all of you will also keep your eyes open to the amazing things that can happen to you despite all the troubles that burden your shoulders.”  she finished.

Rob made his eyes open really wide, “I’ll _always_ keep my eyes open from now on!”

Heather giggled at him, “It’s a teaching story, silly! You’re not supposed to literally keep your eyes open!”

“It’s not just a teaching story! It’s true isn’t it?” Jessie spoke up.

“All teaching stories have truth in them, or else how can they teach? What Rob might’ve meant is that by refusing to look at everything, you blind yourself to the beauty that is right there.” their storyteller told them, “What else can we learn from the story?”

The children gave several answers.

“That even in darkness there is light.” Bunny spoke up, “When you feel like you’ve lost everything, you can still hope. Hope that something good will happen, that tomorrow will be better.”

“But I’m scared. I don’t want to die but the doctors all think it’s hopeless.” Tyler said, speaking not only for him but for the rest of the children.

Bunny pulled him into a firm hug. He fought to get the right words, words that would comfort them and give them hope.

“It’s never hopeless.” Bunny said fiercely, making sure to meet every single child’s gaze, “And when it feels like it is, that’s what I’m here for. I’ll keep right on giving you something to look forward to, each and every year, because as long as you have hope, even just a tiny bit of it, ya don’t need ta be afraid.

“Don’t give up.” He continued, “That’s what the little girl did, she gave up and she missed out on so much. You never really lose until you stop fighting. Don’t give up on me.” Bunny said strongly, “Because I’ll _never_ give up on you.”

~ o ~ o ~ o ~

The trip back from the hospital was a quiet one. Bunny was lost in his own thoughts when his companion broke the silence.

“Thanks…” she said, looking straight ahead, stubbornly not meeting the gaze of the giant rabbit beside her, “…for what you did back there. That was probably their best Easter ever.”

Bunny exhaled loudly, “Here.” He said, suddenly dumping his last Easter egg in her hands, “Thanks for bringing me there.”

Bunny enjoyed the shocked look on her face. She held the egg as carefully as the kids they’d just left did. This time, she met Bunny’s eyes when she said ‘thank you’.

“What happened ta the little shiela?” Bunny asked, sincerely curious, “The one from your story.”

“She lived happily ever after?” She was confused, not understanding why he would bring up the story, “It’s a teaching story, nothing more.”

Bunny scoffed, “For a storyteller, you’re a horrible liar. Ya said it yourself; every teaching story has some truth in it. You dressed it up and made it sound like a fairy tale but I know a true story when I hear one. So what happened to the shiela?”

She shrugged, turning away and continuing down the path, “She grew up as all little girls do. She made new friends. She kept her eyes open and tried to share the light she found with others.”

~ o ~ o ~ o ~

The next Easter, there were baskets of brightly-coloured Easter eggs nestled on the beds of every single hospitalized believer.

And in one little hospital’s children’s ward, there was much rejoicing and happy cheers when the children woke up and found the baskets.

In the far right corner, a little boy sat quietly, tears of joy streaming down his cheeks as he hugged his gift from the one who convinced him not to give up despite the odds.

 

 

 

_“Light shines all the brighter when shrouded with shadows…” Bunny murmured to himself._

_“So that’s what those special baskets are for.” Jack said, and then noticed that Bunny wasn’t paying attention, “Bunny? Oy, Kangaroo!”_

_“Wha? Oh, yeah. They’re for the sprogs who can’t go egg-hunting.” Bunny said, swatting Jack’s hand away from one of the said baskets, “An’ I’ll thank ya not to touch them.”_

_“Aww…I just wanted to see…”_

_“Look, ya can come with me on this Easter’s visit, how’s that?” Bunny offered._

_The frost sprite did a loop in mid-air, “Yes, I’d love to! Gotta spread the fun, don’t I?”_

_“AH!” Bunny brought his fellow Guardian up short, “Ya gotta promise: No. Snow.”_

_“What? But Bunny! Come on!” Jack whined._

_“No. The ankle-biters won’t be able ta handle the cold.”_

_“Not even a tiny snowball?”_

_“No.”_

_The two friends continued to squabble as Bunny oversaw the preparations for Easter. He gazed around his Warren where everything was going full-swing in preparation for his big day._

_It would be a great Easter._

_“Snowflakes, I’d make some special. The very best patterns I can make.”_

_“I said NO! So rack off, ya drongo, I’ve got work ta do!!”_

 

Fin...

...for now.

**Author's Note:**

> First published at Fanfiction.net, uploaded here for archive purposes.


End file.
